You only have one shot to make the best possible impression during a job interview. With thoughtful preparation and execution you can make a lasting impression that will help you seal the deal.
Be prepared with some knowledge about the company beforehand. Check out their website to learn about the history of the company and what they offer their customers. Look for the latest annual report under Investor Relations on the company’s website. If they are privately held, you’ll need to rely on outside sources for information normally reported in an Annual Report. If they are a non- profit, they need to report financial and regulatory information and make it publicly available. You should be able to find that information on their website.
Find out if the company owns any subsidiary companies, if so know what products or services the company provides. Who is their target customer or market? Do they market their products mostly to business professionals, homemakers, scientists?
Which states or countries do they do business in? Are their products and services huge in Brazil, or is the East Coast of the US their biggest market? Know approximately how many employees they have, both in the US and worldwide.
Find out about the financial health of the company from the annual report, general business, and financial publications. Know a few facts about what is going on with the company right now. Search for current articles written about the company and high level leaders in general business publications, industry trade journals, and their web site. How much revenue and profit do they generate? What’s the current stock price?
What was the stock’s overall performance in the last year - did it plummet to new lows, hold steady, or skyrocket? Know some key events that happened in the company in the last year. Did they have a huge product launch 6 months ago? Did they lay off 5,400 people? Have they expanded into new markets or regions?
Find out about their top 2 or 3 competitors, the products and services they offer, and some current facts about what competitors are doing.
Ask the interviewer intelligent questions about the company, the department you’ll be working in, and possible career paths. For example, let’s say you are interviewing for a position with PetSmart, a huge retail pet supply company. Ask what the interviewer thinks their greatest advantage is over Petco, one of their key competitors. Be a bit provocative and ask the interviewer what s/he thinks Petco does well, what advantages they might have over PetSmart, and how the company is working to overcome that.
Ask what key challenges the interviewer thinks the company faces in the next 18 months and how they plan to address them. Ask the same question about what challenges the specific department you will be working in is facing. Is their biggest challenge how to respond to a failing economy, the growth of online competitors, challenges around making sense of huge volumes of online feedback? Listen for things that someone with your education and background, have to offer that might help them overcome those challenges.
For example, if increasing regulations and legislation around financial reporting is a challenge for them, and you majored in Finance, your finance education may help address some of their challenges. Perhaps you can point out some interesting points you’ve learned about the growing regulatory or legislative environment and how to address them from a financial standpoint. Any interesting case studies you can discuss?
If the growing online presence of competitors is a concern and you have ideas about how to effectively market products and services online, start a discussion around that. Point out some of the things you’ve learned about how to create a web marketing strategy and a strong online presence. Discuss web design tools you are familiar with and any relevant projects you may have worked on, including those you worked on in school if you are a relatively recent graduate.
If the interviewer asks why you are leaving your current job, tell them you’ve enjoyed working at your former organization, but it’s time to move on and broaden your experience. Never make negative statements about your former employer, bosses, or colleagues in an interview. I mean never, ever.
Interviewers often like to ask about your strengths and weaknesses, or “development areas”, as they are often called. Strengths are easy, but be careful about “development areas”. Don’t list more than one. There are a lot of pat answers that are often suggested such as “I’m a perfectionist”, “I work too hard” or other insincere responses. Most interviewers see right through such answers. Think honestly about your development areas, and use common sense. Don’t tell an interviewer that you have no patience for the incompetence of others, or that you just don’t have a head for financials.
You’d like to say that you can’t think of any offhand, but most interviewers won’t let you off the hook so easily. Safer development areas might be a need to further expand a certain skill or area of knowledge, or obtaining a specific certification. Statements like these can highlight a development area without making it sound as though you lack the skills or attributes they need. Say something like: “Although I have strong project management skills, I am not yet PMI/PMP certified”, or “It’s early in my career, and although I’ve got a decent size network of people within the industry, I need to focus on further expanding my network”. Whatever statements you make, be prepared to answer how you are addressing, or will address, the development area. Then make sure you do work to address it as soon as you land the job.
Thoughtful background research and relevant questions about the company and their direction demonstrate that you’re serious about the job and that you understand the company, their challenges and their goals . Solid preparation will help you make a lasting impression that is sure to move you to the top of the candidate list!
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